Advice

My friend David, a lawyer in his 60s, likes to say—when I see a young lawyer, I ask myself, what is keeping this guy from being the best lawyer he can be? I’ve always thought that is about the classiest attitude I could ever imagine. But I thought of David when I stumbled on this, from the memorial service for a once-famous law professor, now deceased (link).

Every day you will have the opportunity to do something special – give a great class, help a colleague, advise a student, write a paper. Try each day to paint a masterpiece.

Don’t show anyone up. Be lavish and open with encouragement and praise for students and colleagues. Be cautious and private with criticism.

Don’t make a habit of proclaiming your greatness. Others have covered that field exhaustively. Try something different. Take satisfaction in quietly raising the game of everyone around you.

Brush aside the inevitable slights of academic life. You will find that many academics have a high estimation of their abilities. Some can be acutely tiresome, and you may be tempted to dwell upon their missteps. Each minute you spend to nurse old hurts is time lost, time stolen from preparing a better class, counseling a student, or reading a case. You cannot build a good reputation by keeping grudges.

Finally, when success comes your way and the day comes that you are established as a usual suspect, pass the favor along. May you never become too important to help those who need it the most.

I wonder, if I had run across this 30 years ago, would I have been smart enough to profit from it?